Stand by your man…
2007 July 26
This is the famous advert from Guinness (1995) that never got broadcast on British TV. The advert was ditched after details of the advert’s content was leaked to the press. After numerous complaints and much opposition to the advert, by drinkers of the stout who had not even seen it, Guiness decided not to use it. This comes as no great suprise, after all, Guinness is an Irish company and would have come under lots of pressure from many in the Catholic church.
12 years on, would Guinness make the same decision today, in this new age of Civil Partnerships and Sale of Goods Act? The 2001 Census says the UK gay population is around 6% (3 million). I think that Guinness would view the value of the pink pound a little differently now!
Hmmm let me think…
1. Impulse featured a gay couple once
2. Marmite – the lifeguard kiss
I cant think of any others at the moment though!
Wow, that’s quite a find.
A lovely advert and I’m very disappointed it was never used. As you say, the pink £ is worth hundreds of millions (and I for one absolutely love Guinness) so it’s a shame to ignore the gay market segment. Oh well, one day…
Actually, this gets me thinking. Are there any adverts on TV featuring gay people?? I think there are but nothing is coming to mind. Possibly there is a mobile phone one.